Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.

As far as I'm concerned, if you want to find out about the last day of WWII or the roots of the Indian Mutiny, get thee to a books catalogue.

The past is always tense, the future perfect.

Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories.

Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation’. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle’. All that matters is what you leave on the page.

Time is how you spend your love.

I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.

Don't confuse honours with achievement.

Pulchritude--beauty where you would least suspect it, hidden in a word that looked like it should signify a belch or a skin infection.

Whether we walk among our people or alone among the hills, happiness in life's walking depends on how we feel about others in our hearts.

Habits are familiar and comfortable, putting our reactions on autopilot and often leading us, instead, to great discomfort.

Money will make you more of what you already are. If you're not a nice person, money's going to make you a despicable individual. If you're a good person, money's going to make you a better person.

The meaning of good and bad of better and worse is simply helping or hurting.

Of course we live in a world where we have to make money to eat so that's always nice to be able to sing and make money but to do something I love and to be able to eat from...it's great.

Talented people are written off once they hit their 50s and 60s, and the saddest thing is, we just get better as we get older.

In the age of mediocrity and clones, John Stowell's uniqueness and originality are a breath of fresh air. I love playing with him.

If you're trying too hard to be the girl next door, you're not going to be.

There are far too many people out there who take themselves too seriously.

You can make anything into a special occasion and dress up for it